Miami Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisholm hasn't taken 100 at-bats at the big-league level yet, but he's already established himself as one of the game's most entertaining players on the merits of his play and personality. To wit, Chisholm has accomplished the following feats over the first two-plus weeks of the regular season:
Batted .294/.405/.706 (200 OPS+) with three home runs and three stolen bases (on three tries) in 42 plate appearances.
Manufactured a run by following up a walk with subsequent steals of second and third base before then scoring on a sacrifice fly.
Homered on an elevated, 100 mph fastball in an 0-2 count against Jacob deGrom, possibly the best pitcher in the game.
Done all the above while rocking dyed blue hair that goes quite well with Miami's uniforms.
Chisholm offered an idea of what his next big moment might be during a recent appearance on R2C2, the podcast hosted by former big-league pitcher CC Sabathia and sportscaster Ryan Ruocco: homering off Zac Gallen -- the pitcher the Arizona Diamondbacks traded him to Miami for at the 2019 deadline.
"I'm not going to lie to you though, the one thing that I really do want to do is take him deep. That's it," Chisholm said while laughing. "I know we're going to Arizona soon, so I want him to be healthy and at 100%, because facing me is going to be a m-----f----- when I get there."
Chisholm is correct that the Marlins will head to Arizona for a four-game set from May 10-13, but he may not have to wait that long to face Gallen. Rather, the Diamondbacks are scheduled to visit Miami from May 4-6. Gallen would miss that first series if Arizona stays true to its current rotation order. The Diamondbacks do have a couple of days off between now and then, however, which would allow them to tweak their rotation if they want to maximize the number of starts they get from Gallen without impacting his rest.
While Chisholm's comments are made in good fun, it bears noting that trade is working out fine for both parties. Gallen has delivered 21 high-quality starts for the Diamondbacks, posting a 2.78 ERA and earning Cy Young Award consideration last fall. Chisholm, meanwhile, is on his way to becoming a magnetic star.
